1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the technical area of information management and pertains more specifically to apparatus and methods for creating a social identity for an object or a collection of objects, and associating that object in a comprehensive information system with specific persons and descriptive and contextual information.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet network is well-known, and comprises a great number of network nodes, each typically coupled to specific functionality and information. There exist and are well-known as well, browser applications that enable persons through the use of computerized appliances to search for nodes according to specific search criteria, and to connect to and interact with individual nodes, including downloading of information in repositories coupled to the nodes. Applications and systems exist in the art as well for individuals to create nodes in the Internet network, commonly referred to as web sites.
A relatively new concept in the Internet network is known as the Internet of Things, referred to as IoT. In the IoT individual apparatus may be enabled as nodes in the network by implementing network communication hardware and software in such apparatus, and the apparatus and its communication subsystem may have an IP Address.
Having an IP address is not a new concept for an apparatus, as this is quite common for network capable devices like computers and routers. But in the IoT the nodes are such as automobiles, other vehicles, refrigerators, TV sets, and much more. A commonality among the “things” in the Internet of Things, is that the things are enabled to connect to the Internet network.
It has occurred to the present inventors that the node concept may be extended far beyond the IoT concept in a non-obvious way. In the IoT each apparatus or entity that is enabled as a node may be described as a noun, a refrigerator for example. An important object in the IoT is that the nodes are interactive in the Internet network. That is, one may associate all appliances in her home as IoT nodes, and may exercise considerable interaction and control throughout the population of appliances. But other than being, for example, a refrigerator or a spa filter, there is no rich contextual information and association. There is little if any motivation in the IoT to represent a book, a guitar, a settee, a stagecoach, an article of clothing, ad infinitum, as nodes in a network with specific identification. The present inventors have imagined that assigning unique ID to such objects and assemblies of objects opens a door to rich contextual association among the objects, history of the objects in association with living and formerly living people, stories about the objects and the people in association, and much more. Objects, by functionality of the system, are enhanced with personality.
In the Detailed Description of this invention below, through specific examples and embodiments, the inventors describe a new and unique system based on Social Identity of Objects.